Investors in vehicle makers lost money in the first quarter but those owning PSA/Peugeot-Citroen and DaimlerChrysler stock lost less than most, according to Automotive News Europe.
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The value of PSA’s stock declined only 7.8% as it continued to increase its share of the new passenger-car market to 15.7% in the period from 15% a year earlier. The improvement was all due to Citroen with its successful C3 small car and the company’s aggressive discounting campaign for other, older models.
The C3 was particularly popular in Italy, where until the end of March the government gave tax breaks valued at between €550 and €873 on cars up to 115hp.
Citroen was also at the forefront of a European-wide campaign of customer incentives. Some analysts worry this will hurt the brand image and the profit margin, but Citroen managing director Claude Satinet insists the company’s discounts are no bigger than its competitors. Citroen is simply more open about it, says Satinet.
The company is particularly successful in the UK, where it is seeking to expand its retail network. Until now it has had comparatively few sales outlets in the country as it did not wish to trade with the large, independent dealer groups that dominate the market.
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By GlobalDataThe UK proved to be a blessing for makers of luxury cars too. Strong sales there helped to limit losses for DaimlerChrysler investors to 7.8% — the same as for PSA. Mercedes continued to increase market share in the UK, while sales in western Europe fell 3.1% to give D-C a stable market share of 6.1%.
In the USA, D-C said truck sales in the first quarter fell by less than expected following changes in truck emission regulations last October. Chrysler continued to offer large incentives on cars in North America in competition with Ford and General Motors. All were trying to reduce inventories, and to halt the erosion of market share to European and Japanese manufacturers.
Renault posted the worst quarterly results with a 32% fall in share value. That happened as the company’s share of the European market fell to 10.1% in the first quarter from 10.9% a year earlier.
Renault sales in the same period fell 9.1%, despite the launch of new models at the core of the company’s range, the Megane three- and five-door hatchbacks. The one-year-old Vel Satis luxury car sold poorly, while low demand for the Avantime luxury coupe led Matra, the assembler, to end production. The two-year-old restyled Clio and the upper-medium Laguna continued to struggle for sales. The company hopes the Megane Coupe Convertible and the new Scenic, soon to be launched, will revive its fortunes.
The fall in Renault shares may deter the French government, which still owns a quarter of the company, from getting rid of its stake in the near future.
Porsche came second from last, hit by falling sales of sports cars in the USA, Automotive News Europe said.
